Warming up before exercising

The importance of warming up before exercising

Warm-ups serve four primary purposes

• Mental readiness
• Physical readiness
• Injury prevention
• Performance enhancement

A well-designed warm-up can increase blood flow, muscle temperature, core temperature  and also disrupt temporary connective tissue bonds. These effects can have the following positive effects on performance:

• Faster muscle contraction and relaxation of both agonist and antagonist muscles
• Improvements in reaction time
• Improvements in muscle strength and power
• Improved oxygen delivery due to the Bohr effect where higher temperatures facilitate oxygen release from haemoglobin and myoglobin
• Increased blood flow to active muscles
• Enhanced metabolic reactions

Warm-Up Stages

Warm-ups most commonly last for approximately 10-30 minutes, meaning all desired content must be strategically factored in this short period of time. The stages are easily classified in the following warm-up sequence:

• Raise
• Activate Mobilise & Stretch
• Performance

Phase 1 – Raise

The aim of the ‘raise’ section is to raise:

• Body temperature
• Heart rate
• Respiration rate
• Blood flow
• Joint viscosity

Some examples of raise exercises may include:

• Planned change of direction drills
• Squatting, lunging, or crawling.

Phase 2 – Activate and Mobilise and Stretch

The aim of this phase of the warm-up is two-fold:

• Activate key muscle groups
• Mobilise key joints and ranges of motion used in the sport or activity

During this phase of the warm-up, typical activation, mobilisation movements and stretches may include:

• Squats and lunges
• Lateral shuffles
• Upper & lower body rotations
• Static or active stretches (Depending on the lesson content)

We have designed the activation, mobilisation and stretching phase, giving careful consideration to the fundamental movements and demands imposed by our Krav Maga Self Defence classes.

We effectively prepare our students for training and also help prevent injuries occurring.

Phase 3 – Performance

The aim of this phase is to prepare our students for the session.

Therefore, the content of the performance phase will see high-intensity drills which are highly specific to the class being taught. For example, the performance phase of a striking session may include strike specific drills such as light focus mitt drills, kick pad drills, plyometric push ups and so on. Because our training involves stress inoculation drills we sometimes include reactive agility drills in a chaotic environment.

Please note that all of our Krav Maga Self Defence Classes are based in Manchester